Nice job, Ike. Idiot.

Ricky Williams now? Really #Steelers?

That's just how you want to start the second half :-p Can you say no-huddle? 29-7 Ravens

This ain't Pittsburgh. Won't be so easy for #Steelers to come back from 21-7 at halftime vs. Ravens like last yr

Very lucky Reed didn't pick that ball off. I thought Big Ben was done doing stupid things.

Looks like #Steelers are ok as long as they can keep their offense on the field. 14-7 Ravens

Hines Ward Fighting with the Stars. Go #Steelers

Gotta watch Suggs. Loss in this game could hurt #Steelers in terms of tiebreakers. 14-0 Ravens

But at least Goodell has added a rule banning O-Linemen from holding James Harrison. #Steelers

Goodell, you dropped the ball. The entire league should have waited until every 9/11 name was read. Go #Steelers

I hope Principle Goodell pushes back the sacred 1 p.m. kickoff time until they finish reading the names at Ground Zero

Ten Years Ago Today

By Mike Batista

I actually wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to the Steelers on Sept. 11, 2001. Two days earlier, they lost the season opener 21-3 at Jacksonville. After three very mediocre seasons, I figured here we go again.

On the morning of Sept. 11, I slept in. I woke up and turned on SportsCenter late in the morning. I remember seeing something about Michael Jordan coming back from retirement. Then I remember seeing on the crawl at the bottom of the screen that some Major League Baseball games were postponed because of "attacks in New York and Washington."

Since I still didn't know what was going on, I figured it was another Oklahoma City, still enough to give me a sinking feeling.

Then at the top of the hour, ABC News took over ESPN's airwaves, and that's how I found out.

Now, 10 years later, the Steelers and Ravens start a new season. These teams represent cities just about the same distance from Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the heroes of Flight 93 saved another landmark in Washington from possible destruction.

Enjoy the football today, but let's remember the real heroes.

Game-by-game look at the Steelers' 2011 season

By Mike Batista

What's Wink Martindale doing these days?

How about Chuck Woolery?

Or Ben Stein?

Hell, I'd even settle for Rolf Benirschke. That's right, the intestinally challenged former Chargers kicker hosted Wheel of Fortune for a few months in 1989.

I need someone to host this year's version of everyone's favorite game show, the Win-Loss Game, where contestants look at their favorite team's schedule, and predict a win or a loss for each game.

It's like Wheel of Fortune with only "W"s and "L"s, and maybe an occasional "T" if you really got some balls.

The 2011 Steelers schedule is tied for the fourth-weakest in the NFL.

That scares me.

In 2009, the Steelers also were coming off a Super Bowl appearance and had a piece-of-cake schedule on their plate. We all know how that turned out.

And with the exception of the Bengals, it's not like any of those teams in 2009 were better than expected. During the five-game losing streak that blew their season to bits, the Steelers lost to the Chiefs, Raiders and Browns, all of whom were as shitty as advertised.

My head tells me the Steelers are a damn good team this year, even if they are the oldest team in the NFL. However, 2009 won't easily be forgotten. Nor will 2006, when they famously flopped after winning Super Bowl XL the year before. I can't help but have those two seasons in the back of my mind as I play the Win-Loss Game this season.*

And now, it's time to play.

Week 1, at Baltimore: This is like waking up to a slap in the face instead of a cup of coffee. This is the Steelers' most intense opener since 2002, when they opened on a Monday night in New England the year after the Patriots upset them in the 2001 AFC championship game. This will go a little bit better, as long as Rashard Mendenhall can avoid all the objects Ravens fans throw at him on the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11. W, 20-16

Week 2, Seattle: Tarvaris Jackson is starting at quarterback for the Seahawks. Steelers defense, start your engines. W, 38-7

Week 3, at Indianapolis: If Peyton Manning plays at all this season, it certainly won't be by Week 3. Still, let's not take this one too lightly. Kerry Collins is a capable backup, and hard-core Steelers fans will remember the name Cody Carlson. W, 20-13

Week 4, at Houston: Manning possibly being out for the year might be what it takes for the ultimate "Wait 'Til Next Year" team to finally so something in the AFC South and make the playoffs. The Steelers never tempt perfection with long winning streaks to start the season, and I can't help but think that someone will sneak up on the Steelers during this yawn-inspiring Houston-Tennessee-Jacksonville leg of their schedule. Not exactly the most dynamic NFL cities. L, 19-13

Week 5, Tennessee: Munchak and Hasselbeck. Sounds like some kind of cheesy, early 80s cop-show duo. W, 23-12

Week 6, Jacksonville: According to ESPN, quarterback David Garrard was released hours after being introduced as the Jaguars' starting quarterback at a chamber of commerce luncheon. Maybe he can tour the country as a Seal impersonator and see if he can hook up with a model like Heidi Klum. W, 28-21

Week 7, at Arizona: Between not getting the Steelers head coaching job and losing to the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII, Ken Whisenhunt will want to win this game so bad that he'll kick every single one of his players in the balls if they lose. L, 34-17

Week 8, New England: Tom Brady comes to Heinz Field dressed in drag on Halloween Eve. Then we realize that's really his hair. We also realize that's not a mask Bill Belichick's wearing. That's really his face. Unlike last year's Patriots visit, this one will be a game. Unfortunately, the Patriots will win the shootout. Yeah, I know this is 76 points allowed in the past two games. But the Steelers defense will show its age with a mid-season swoon. L, 42-35

Week 9, Baltimore: Joe Fucko has never beaten the Steelers when Ben Roethlisberger plays. W, 14-6

Week 10, at Cincinnati: Steelers finish up with the Ravens early and get two games each against the Bengals and Browns, and a bye, in the last eight weeks of the season. W, 37-13

Week 11, Bye

Week 12, at Kansas City: The NFL is just busting the Steelers' balls here. They also had a late-November game at Kansas City in 2009, in the midst of their infamous slide. Look for the Chiefs to plateau a bit this year after their rise last year. W, 31-20

Week 13, Cincinnati: Who knows if he'll still be the starter this late in the season, but Andy Dalton is the Bengals' first rookie quarterback to start a season opener since Greg Cook in 1969. I know. Who cares. W, 45-3

Week 14, Cleveland: Aww, c'mon NFL. Really? A Thursday night game in early December against the Browns? That doesn't remind Steelers fans of anything, does it? At least this one's in Pittsburgh. W, 27-15

Week 15, at San Francisco: Chalk this up as a "haunted by 2009" pick. L, 20-17

Week 16, St. Louis: Please don't flex this one to a night game, NFL. It's going to be tough enough planning Christmas Eve around a 1 p.m. game. W, 22-9

Week 17, at Cleveland: I wouldn't be surprised if most of those votes Peyton Hillis got for the Madden cover were cast by Steelers fans so he'd get jinxed. The Browns have their quarterback in Colt McCoy. They'll be better this year, and I just don't see the Steelers going 12-4 again. L, 17-16

Now for the Bonus Round. Or in this case, playoffs.

Here's how I see the AFC playoff picture shaking out:

1. Patriots (13-3)
2. Chargers (12-4)
3. Steelers (11-5)
4. Texans (10-6)
5. Ravens (10-6)
6. Jets (10-6)

Wild-card: Steelers 25, Jets 17; Texans 13, Ravens 7
Divisional: Chargers 16, Steelers 13; Patriots 37, Texans 13
Championship: Patriots 21, Chargers 7

I think the Steelers start to show their age toward the end of the year and get beat in the playoffs by the Chargers. But no way Norv Turner is getting the Chargers into the Super Bowl. So, I regret to inform everyone that the Patriots get back to the Super Bowl.

Since the season's already started in the NFC, I can't really pick records or playoff seeds. Or maybe I'm just too damn lazy. I say the Packers get back to the Super Bowl, not based on Thursday night's game but based on the fact that they got to the Super Bowl last year despite all those injuries. You'd have to think they'll be healthier this year and maybe get a home playoff game or two.

Unlike last year, I'll actually be rooting for the Packers in the Super Bowl. Sure, the Packers were added to my NFL shit list after beating the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV, but the Patriots have earned my unconditional hatred. I'll be quite relieved when the Packers beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Of course, my predictions are usually wrong, and I hope this year is no different.

*-When I was thinking of game-show hosts to mention, one of the names I wanted to use was former Remote Control host Ken Ober. Then I saw that he died at 52 on Nov. 15, 2009. You know what else happened that day? The Steelers lost to the Bengals at home, starting their infamous five-game losing streak. Spooky stuff, huh?

Mike Tomlin speaks of salt and sand

By Mike Batista

The Steelers begin the 2011 season in about 120 hours. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said in his press conference Tuesday that he expects the Ravens to be "quite salty." Damn. I've been trying to limit my sodium intake.

Tomlin also got some laughs when he said he thinks James Harrison, who is recovering from two back surgeries, has been "sandbagging" it. Charlie Babbitt made a joke. That's about as colorful as it gets during a Tomlin presser.

I'm working on my definitive prediction column for the season, then realized it was going to be too goddamn long, so I'm taking a piece of it and making a column out of that.

Think of this column as licking the mixer when Ma makes a cake. In this case, the cake is my prediction for the Steelers' 2011 season, which I'll have later in the week.

For now, let's take a quick look at the Steelers in the three main departments.

OFFENSE: Rashard Mendenhall is going to need a kick-ass, breakout season to make his infamous Twitter comments a distant memory. I think that's just what he'll do. I predict at least 1,500 rushing yards from Mendenhall this season. As far as their receivers go, I can't help but get giddy about the depth there. The Steelers shouldn't have any trouble scoring points this season.

DEFENSE: I hate dealing with the number 13 because I'm superstitious. But I have a feeling that's how many games we'll get out of Troy Polamalu this season. He actually only missed two games last season. It just seemed like more because he was still hampered during the postseason. Since Polamalu injuries pretty much come with the territory now, I'll take three games with Polamalu in street clothes if the Steelers can somehow win two of those games and if Polamalu's in peak condition for the playoffs. 

Speaking of injury-prone players, I think Aaron Smith's best days are behind him. He's 35. Fortunately, the Steelers seem to have drafted well on the defensive line recently. Cameron Heyward looked good in camp and might have to contribute as a rookie. This defense is getting old, and will need some of that new blood to start pumping pretty soon. Perhaps Jason Worilds might be pressed into duty if James Harrison really isn't sandbagging it. Can Keenan Lewis bury his boneheaded past and emerge as a factor in the secondary?

Don't be surprised if the Steelers have to use all that offensive firepower and win the occasional 42-38 game this season.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Triskaidekaphobia aside, it is Daniel Sepulveda, not No. 13 Jeremy Kapinos, who is bad luck for the Steelers. Nonetheless, Sepulveda won the punting job and Kapinos was waived. Sepulveda has had two of his four seasons cut short by injury. The Steelers have gone to the Super Bowl in both of those seasons, and they haven't gone to the Super Bowl in either of his full seasons. Hmm.

Five end-of-August Steelers thoughts

By Mike Batista

I promised another post by the end of August, so here you go.

What a month August was. It started with me moving. I spent hours packing and unpacking (which I haven't finished) and had to run around to scrape together enough cash for the movers. All that, and it turns out my apartment in New Jersey is only 13 miles closer to Heinz Field than my apartment in New York.

Last week's earthquake didn't move me any closer to the big yellow stadium in Pittsburgh. Thankfully, I'm one of the lucky ones. Neither the earthquake nor Hurricane Irene had much impact on me.

My 40th birthday is another story. I could not get out of the way of that storm's path during the month of August.

So let's finish up this tumultuous month with five random Steelers observations as they enter their final preseason game tomorrow night.

• If James Harrison doesn't get any better, he can't play in Week 1. He's still recovering from back surgery in the offseason, and right now he's a liability. You can play a man down in football, just not American football. The Steelers won't win in Baltimore playing 10 on 11. Maybe they move Lawrence Timmons to outside linebacker and put Larry Foote on the inside, if he has anything left. Or maybe second-year man Stevenson Sylvester is ready to step in on the inside. The Steelers have drafted some good linebackers the last couple of years. It's time to put that depth to use. Jason Worilds showed some flashes last year. It doesn't sound like he's made much progress in the preseason, but he might have to be ready to replace Harrison on the outside.
• Someone tell me again how the Steelers got Jerricho Cotchery. It's a matter of keeping up with the Joneses in the AFC. The Steelers have to make sure they have more than teams like the Patriots, Ravens and Jets. The Jets' near-comeback against the Steelers in the AFC championship game was pretty damn scary. Somehow, one of the more formidable weapons of the Jets' second-half assault is now in a Steelers uniform. The Steelers should make like Joe Pesci firing his gun into the air after he jacked the truck in "Goodfellas." With Cotchery, the Steelers have the luxury of allowing Emmanuel Sanders to take his time coming back from foot surgery. That brings me to another Steelers receiver, someone who many are rooting for to make the team, but probably won't. Tyler Grisham will be fighting for a job tomorrow night. The Steelers have five legitimate threats at wide receiver with Mike Wallace, Hines Ward, Cotchery, Sanders and Antonio Brown, who looks like he's ready to have a breakout year. The Steelers can afford to use their sixth wide receiver spot on a special teams ace like Arnaz Battle. Grisham isn't as good on special teams. He's got practice squad written all over him.
• Cornerbacks Keenan Lewis and Crezdon Butler likely will make the team. I'd love to see one of them start opposite Ike Taylor at cornerback Sept. 11. That probably won't happen, though. Butler made the highlight reel with his 95-yard interception return for a touchdown in the preseason game against the Falcons. But he and Lewis both made some mistakes in the game, too. It would be quite a redemption story if Lewis becomes any kind of contributor, considering some of those boneheaded penalties in his first two years. But we're probably going to be stuck with Bryant McFadden starting, and maybe even William Gay as the nickelback. Same old mediocre Steelers secondary.
• It looks like Tony Hills won't be the starting right guard, after all. Doug Legursky will get a long look tomorrow night. It's too bad. I was really rooting for Hills to get a starting job. It would have been a shining example of perseverance. Hills dropped into the fourth round of the 2008 draft after breaking his leg his senior year at Texas. He seemed lost his first couple of years. I remember seeing him play a little bit in Tennessee last season when Steelers players were dropping like flies in the September heat. Still, it looked like he would have to get a job in the real world this summer. But he must have done something right during the offseason, because he's been competing for a starting job and has earned the label as the Steelers' most "athletic" offensive lineman. We might not see Hills' name listed among the starters on the CBS graphic a few minutes after 1 p.m. on Sept. 11. But Hills might be in a good position to make the team and be heard from eventually. Hang in there, Tony.
• I don't know about you, but I'm just not comfortable with Shaun Suisham as the Steelers' kicker. His wide, wide, wide left on the 52-yarder, indoors, in Super Bowl XLV is burned into my consciousness like the sight of Rosie O'Donnell naked.

That is all. See you in September.

Preseason: Steelers 24, Eagles 14

By Mike Batista

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin long ago coined the term "January football" to refer to the NFL playoffs.

Just in case anyone hasn't noticed, it isn't January. It's summer, and what went on Thursday night at Heinz Field was "August football."

That means it's preseason. It doesn't count. So despite the Steelers' domination of the Eagles, my opinion of the Eagles' "Dream Team" campaign hasn't changed either way, just as my opinion of how good the Steelers are doesn't change with this game.

Who's going to remember this game five years from now? Two years from now? Or even in November? When people talk about the greatest games and performances they've seen, preseason games don't come up.

My thoughts on the Eagles both before and after Thursday's game is that the "Dream Team" concept never works in the NFL. Just ask the Redskins. It damn near worked with the Miami Heat in the NBA. They were two wins away from a championship. But there are many more moving parts in football. Despite their loaded free agent shopping cart, I wouldn't book rooms in Indianapolis just yet if I were the Eagles.

One last opinion from Thursday's game. I think Tomlin should suspend Troy Polamalu for the rest of the preseason. I know Tomlin might be putting his job on the line, but for the sake of Polamalu's health, the Steelers might just have to risk a 1-3 preseason record.

Polamalu should have taken a knee and/or curled up in a fetal ball position after making that interception. Instead, he risked injury in a meaningless game with one of his patented zig-zag returns and got turned upside down my Michael Vick.

Considering his injuries the last couple of years, the sight of Polamalu's flowing locks on the field in August gives me ulcers. Does he really need to play in the preseason? I think he'll make the team.

Preseason: Redskins 16, Steelers 7

Ike Taylor breaks thumb in preseason opener

By Mike Batista

I didn't watch the Steelers' preseason opener on Friday night. I watch very little preseason football. During the game, however, I happened across a photo of Ben Roethlisberger with his leg wedged under diving Redskins cornerback Kenny Barnes. Roethlisberger appears to be awkwardly trying to get rid of the ball.

I thought the Steelers' season was over right then and there, 30 days before kickoff in Baltimore. In that still photograph, it looked like Roethlisberger's knee could have been torn up. So I scoured the Internet for any news on the play. I must have refreshed the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Steelers page more times than Nayda Suleman refreshes diapers.

Fortunately, Roethlisberger's leg and knee did not make any news. But that doesn't mean the Steelers escaped their first preseason game with a clean bill of health.

The most serious injury was Ike Taylor's broken thumb. Not that big a deal, considering Taylor can't catch anyway. He'll likely need surgery but should be back in time for the season opener.

What I found a little annoying, though, were the rest of the injuries. Ryan Clark left with a stinger and Roethlisberger dinged his hand and hip. Neither injury was serious, but those scrapes, combined with all the Steelers who have sat out practices with various ticky tack injuries, make me think that maybe the Steelers really are getting old. They seem like duffers getting hurt at the company softball game.

That's why signing Jerricho Cotchery is a good move. This team could use any insurance it can get at any position. In my mind, the best thing I read about Cotchery is that he knows where the first down marker is. I like that.

On Cotchery's Wikipedia page, it says he was born with six fingers on his left hand. Maybe he can loan Taylor one.

NFL lockout ends

By Mike Batista

It's been almost exactly six months since we as Steelers fans played this in victory. The Packers stifled it on Feb. 2. Now, (via scifiradioguy) we have reason to break it out again.



The NFL lockout is over.

The season is saved.

If you're one of those people who has had nothing to read at the beach this summer because the Athlon NFL Preview you bought in June was useless, or if your friends thought you were the coolest dude ever because of your kickass Hall of Fame Game parties, you're shit out of luck.

For everyone else, it's time to dance in the streets.

Those Athlon guys are going to have to work around the clock to put this year's magazine together. Free agency starts at 10 a.m., Tuesday. That's when teams can sign rookies and negotiate with their own free agents and free agents on other teams. At 6 p.m., Friday, teams can sign free agents from other teams.

In my best Forrest Gump, here's all I have to say about that: The Steelers should re-sign Ike Taylor.

I know Taylor is 31, and the Steelers tend to let guys walk when they're on the north side of 30. But the Steelers are never going to have a championship window like they have now. As long as Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu are healthy, they have a chance to win the Super Bowl every year. But without Taylor, those chances aren't as good.

Not only is Taylor an elite NFL cornerback, he's the only decent one the Steelers got. Bryant McFadden hasn't been the same since his exile in Arizona. William Gay is a nickelback, nothing more. Supposedly Crezdon Butler, who was drafted in the fifth round last year, has potential, but who knows? I figure Keenan Lewis, drafted in the third round in 2009, will be handing in his playbook this summer.

The Steelers drafted Curtis Brown in the third round of this year's draft and Cortez Allen in the fourth round. It would be nice if one of these mid-round picks had a surprising Mike Wallace-like impact as a rookie, but with the lockout scuttling rookie camps, these guys already are behind.

This generation of Steelers already has won two Super Bowls, but they can win more, even if Taylor only has a couple of good years left.

Taylor or no Taylor, this much we know: There will be a 2011 season.

James Harrison Speaks and Leaks

By Mike Batista

I would like to thank James Harrison.

Now, instead of a five-day-old post about Hines Ward's DUI, I can write a one-day-old post about Harrison's comments regarding NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

I don't blame Harrison for not wanting to piss on Goodell if he were on fire. I really don't think a normal urination would be adequate to extinguish flames covering an entire adult male body. It just wouldn't be a practical use of bodily fluids.

I can see why Harrison doesn't like Commissioner Goody. Let's do a little math here. Goodell fined Harrison $100,000 last season. It's easy for us to say that $100,000 is pocket change for a pro athlete. So I looked up Harrison's salary. The latest I could find was USA Today's 2009 figures. According to that, Harrison made $13,357,280 in 2009. Let's assume he had a similar salary in 2010. That $100,000 would have been seven-tenths of 1 percent of Harrison's salary.

If you're making $50,000 a year, .7 percent of your salary is $350. If one person fined you a total of $350 from September through the end of the year, and you had Christmas shopping to worry about, you might not be willing to aid that person with your tinkle, either.

So if Goodell isn't Harrison's favorite person in the world, that's fine. However, calling him "stupid," the "devil" and a "faggot" seems rather childish. Why doesn't he just call Goodell "Commissioner Poopy Pants?"

Harrison also sounded off about the performance of Ben Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall in Super Bowl XLV. He shouldn't talk. He had only one tackle in the game. None of the Steelers should point fingers for losing the Super Bowl. Keyaron Fox shouldn't have committed a penalty on the kickoff. Mike Wallace should have studied his playbook and been prepared to run Emmanuel Sanders' routes when Sanders got hurt. Troy Polamalu should have been in better position the entire game.

Harrison needs to shut up about the Super Bowl and put all his efforts into getting back there.

Speaking of Polamalu, he is now the sole caretaker of the Steelers' character. If he gets into any off-the-field trouble, the Steelers will lose any last shred of class that they have as an organization.

Hines Ward lost his status as a standard bearer with his DUI arrest last week. Everyone's innocent until proven guilty, but this doesn't look good.

Drinking and driving is a mistake that a lot of people have made. If Ward did do this, he'd be better off turning it into a teaching opportunity rather than denying it.

What a strange offseason. First Rashard Mendenhall's comments. Then Hines Ward's arrest. Now James Harrison mouths off. More negative headlines for the Steelers ... and Ben Roethlisberger has had nothing to do with it.

NFL Labor Talks a Day at the Beach

When I attended a wedding at Nantasket Beach Resort in Hull, Mass., in 2008, the spacious hotel rooms and breathtaking ocean views made me think one thing: This place would be perfect for NFL labor negotiations.

In keeping with the Patriots' tradition of not really playing in Boston, Thursday's session took place in this seaside town about 20 miles from Boston.

Now that the players and owners have given the lawyers coloring books to amuse themselves, it seems the talks are finally on the right track and the season might actually start on time. But I'll believe it when I see it.

Thursday would have been the perfect day to reach an agreement, because Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith could have celebrated by holding hands and going for a nice, long walk along this beach across the street from the hotel.

The last picture in this post is of a shirt I bought from a little roadside stand. On their way out of Hull, I hope the millionaire players and billionaire owners gave some of their business to this guy, because the words on this shirt are going to be my message to them if a deal doesn't get done soon.